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Skiddam
Skiddam is the traditional sport of Ralanos. It is the oldest known sport in the land, created in Goelyn's Highlands some time around 430 UA. There are currently eleven teams that play in the Association, the only professional Skiddam league. The Goelyn Cavaliers were the first founded team, in 548 UA. Rules The game is played on a large rectangular field, with eleven players on each of the two competing teams. Each team owns one side of the field, with three goals per side. The largest goal is found in the back-center of the pitch, with some space between the goal and the back line. Two smaller goals run diagonally on opposite sides of the large goal, with space between the goal and the side lines. The small goals are also closer to the mid line than the large goal. All goals are comprised of a metal frame attached to a large, expandable net. Early versions of goals were made of wood and had no net. Moving There is only one named position in Skiddam, the Blocker. The blocker is the only player that is limited to one area, which is the radius around the large goal. All other players may move freely around the pitch; however, teams are not allowed to enter the other team's goal radii. In various spots near the radii, small "shooting circles" are present, which enhance the point totals for goals. The ball carrier can also move freely with the ball. If a player crosses either the back line or the side lines while carrying the ball, the ball is turned over to the other team. If a player attempts a pass which then goes out of bounds, it is turned over. If a pass is deflected by a defending player and goes out of bounds, the passing team retains possession. Passing and Shooting Passing the ball is split between two types of passes: a bounce pass and a non-bounce, or thrown, pass. Players can pass the ball (made of leather and about head-size), via both types of passes at any time. They may not kick the ball to another teammate as a pass; kicks can only be taken as shots. However, the blocker is exempted from this rule, who may punt the ball to a teammate after making a save or deflection. In order to shoot a thrown shot, the player must have received the ball as a bounce pass, and to shoot a kicked shot, the ball must be received in the air on a volley. If the ball hits the ground off a pass, or if it is deflected off a player and begins to bounce or roll, either team may attempt to take the ball. If a bounce pass is either deflected, or begins rolling, a teammate cannot retrieve it and take a shot. It then counts as a normal pass and must be passed again before another shot can be taken. Scoring Scoring in Skiddam is determined when the ball crosses the goal line of any of the goals. "Points" are given for a goal, with the winner being the first team to reach thirty points. There are multiple types of goals, differed by being either a thrown goal or a kicked goal. Both types of goals can be scored from anywhere on the pitch outside of the goal radii. A thrown goal counts as one point, while kicked goals count as two; alternately, thrown goals from a shooting circle count as two points, and kicked goals from a shooting circle count as four. In order to score a thrown goal, the player must have received the pass prior to the shot on a bounce pass. If the player attempts to score from a non-bounce pass, the ball is turned over to the other team. In order to score a kicked goal, the ball must be given to the shooter on a volley. If the ball bounces before the kicked shot is taken, it is turned over to the other team. When a goal is scored, the other team takes possession and begins play from their own large goal. Defending The main type of defense in Skiddam is the deflection of passes. Players defending may freely block or deflect any type of pass, but may not voluntarily hit or move an opponent attempting to catch a pass. Instead, they must attempt to intercept the pass, or knock it away while in the air. Any loose ball on the ground is free for either team to collect. The other form of defense is hitting, which involves a defending player tackling the ball carrier. Players may wrap their arms around the carrier, lower their shoulder into the carrier, or grab at the carrier's legs with their arms. Defending players may not voluntarily trip the carrier, or hit the carrier's legs with their own legs. If a defending player cleanly tackles the ball carrier to the ground, the ball is turned over to the defending team. During a turnover, the play becomes dead and only continues once the ball carrier either begins a run or attempts a pass. While the play is dead, the carrier may not be hit until the play continues. Defending players also may not come closer than an arm's length from the ball carrier while the play is dead. The ball carrier then has limited time to make a decision of running or passing to continue the play. If the carrier holds the ball longer than that given time, defending players are free to attack the carrier. During turnovers, a popular trend known as "the clap" often commences, with defending players clapping slowly in unison to express the amount of time before they are able to hit the carrier. Any player can attempt to block or deflect a shot while within the goal radius. However, when defending a shot, no more than three defending players can be inside of the goal radius at one time. If more than three players are inside of the radius during a shot, the ball is turned over to the other team. Often times, players are designated by teams to be the three who enter the goal radius, though there is no official position for those players. In the large goal, the blocker makes four players who are allowed to defend the radius. If a shot is blocked, the spot where the defending player collects the ball is the spot of the turnover. If a blocked shot leaves the goal radius, an attacking player may again collect the ball, but the play does not become dead. Officiating There are three referees that officiate the game. The head referee stays around midfield and is mainly responsible for turnover calls. The other two referees stay near the two large goals, monitoring goals and defensive blocks. The referees have control over how long a turnover may last, which varies by positioning and timing of the game. The Association The Skiddam Association is the only professional Skiddam league in Ralanos. Its headquarters are in Goelyn's Galag, attached to the largest Skiddam stadium in Ralanos, and where the Goelyn Cavaliers play their home games. The Association employs over a thousand citizens scattered across the land. The current Chief of the Association is Andren Colgarry. The Association is responsible for monitoring the league, its teams and its players, as well as creating the season schedule. Teams play each of the other teams a total of two times a season, one home and one away. There are twenty games in a season per team, with two games played per month of the ten month calendar. After the team's twentieth game of the season, the top four teams record-wise play in a playoff, with the top seed playing the forth, and the second seed playing the third. The winner of those two games play for the championship. The current champions are the Lakeside Houndbloods, who upset their rivals, the Goelyn Cavaliers, by a score of 30-27 in last year's tournament game. The Most Valuable Player of the league last year was Gordan Alswither, making it his sixth time receiving the award, passing Ruben Shander for the most in Skiddam history. The current teams in the Association (in order of year founded) are: Goelyn Cavaliers - based in Goelyn's Galag, most winningest team in league history Lakeside Houndbloods - based in Donner's Town Middletown Hillsmen - from Middletown and nearby towns Lockhart Green Phantoms - first team established in the Lock, brought Skiddam to the south Cliffview Steppes - based in Cliffview, draws fans from Beggar's Keep and the Rat Vismund Mutes - from Vismund, large portion of players from the Sevreanic League Ragesun Splitters - team based in the capital, though the Ralan dynasty has long shown an unliking to the sport Duzlock Coopers - team founded in Duzlock, contains many knights in the Duz Wing Lanebridge Bayers - southernmost team in the league, based in Port Lanebridge Rapidrun Rush - not to be confused with the rapids, team operated out of Rapidrun Kaladan Roadwatchers - newest team to join the league, joining in 1098 UA